23.2

The office is empty except for Junsu. A sigh escapes Seonho’s lips as he sits down at his desk.

“It didn’t go well.”

From Seonho’s demeanor, Junsu could guess the situation.

“I don’t know what the hell I was thinking with that love speech, ugh.”

Seonho’s voice was full of self-reproach.

“What a mistake.”

Junsu also clicked his tongue.

The original plan was to negotiate using his father’s extramarital affair to buy some time.

“The whole ‘because of that girl’ thing turned me off. It’s ruined.”

Ha! Lecturing my mother about love? That was never going to work. 

But at that moment, he couldn’t tolerate his mother’s dismissive attitude towards Chaeyoon.

Having heard the entire conversation, Junsu patted Seonho’s shoulder.

“Let it go. It’s in the past now. We’ll have another chance to talk before we dine with the honorary chairman.”

“Yeah. Gotta stay strong.”

Taking a deep breath, Seonho regained his composure.

Then he looked up at Junsu standing in front of him, realizing how much strength his presence provided at this moment. It was a different kind of competence.

“Thanks. I’m really glad you’re here, hyung.”

Junsu looked at Seonho as if he were seeing an alien.

***

Drip-drop. 

The sake filled the glass. On the table, there was a tablet PC that Seonkyung had just pushed aside.

The headline of the entertainment news read “A Precious Star Falls.” It was the unexpected news of a famous actor’s suicide.

Despite being recognized for his talent, still at the peak of his career, and wealthy, the unmarried actor had taken his own life due to depression. 

Many couldn’t understand why someone who seemed to have everything would suffer from depression, which made his death all the more shocking and tragic.

It was clear that his death was not an accidental suicide, as he had left a meticulously prepared suicide note and donation of property.

‘I want to experience love.’

Was that your last wish?

Seonkyung did not want to keep recalling the face of the man who seemed about to crumble, but it kept haunting her.

Why did you come to me to say that? You didn’t love me, nor did you desire my love.

When they first met, he was thirsty for success and desperate. Seonkyung had given him what he wanted.

That should have made him happy. But still, he was so broken.

He felt he was too tainted to ever marry and Seonkyung had played a part in his dirtiness. By being his sponsor and making him successful, she fulfilled her own lust.

Perhaps, in organizing his life, he had come to say a final goodbye to Seonkyung, who had greatly influenced his life.

“What’s wrong with that?”

Seonkyung did not believe she was wrong. She did not think of herself as tainted.

But why was it a problem for you? You had everything, so why did you feel empty?

She was troubled. Normally, she wouldn’t have been so disturbed. Perhaps she would have scorned him as a ‘weak man.’

But the news of the man’s death, coming at a time when Seonho wanted to easily discard what Seonkyung had always valued the most, to choose to be with the woman he loved, greatly unsettled her.

‘I want to experience love.’

Would you have chosen not to end your life if you could have loved? What the hell is love anyway? It’s just a fleeting emotion, invisible and not everlasting.

‘I’ll give you a chance, Mother. A chance to experience vicariously the life you’ve never lived, through me.’

Seonho’s face, brighter than ever before, pushed away the image of the man who seemed about to crumble. And on that face overlaid the joyous, radiant smile of Chaeyoon.

Seonkyung stood by the window. There was no starlight in the sky as it should be, but the ground was filled with artificial lights.

They say people become stars when they die. I hope there’s a star in there for you, a love that could have saved you.

Feeling sentimental, Seonkyung prayed for the deceased’s peace. Though she hadn’t drunk enough to get intoxicated, her steps wobbled slightly as she headed to the bedroom.

Before getting into bed, she turned on some sleep-inducing music, then picked up the sleeping pills from the bedside table, which she now took in greater amounts than when she first started. As she popped the pills into her mouth and lay down, she muttered to herself.

“They said not to mix sleeping pills with alcohol.”

***

“There’s a thing called timing, sometimes called opportunity.”

Seonkyung said, sitting at her desk and looking at the Mughal emerald brooch instead of Seonho, who sat on the sofa.

“The same act might not be allowed at one time, but permissible at another. Some people can strive all they want and never have it, while others just have things fall into their laps. It’s called luck.” 

Seonkyung reached out and took the brooch, placing it in her palm.

“I’ve been one of the lucky ones.”

Seonho said with a nonchalant smile.

“It seems so. You’ve always been lucky.” 

Seonkyung meekly conceded.

Maybe it was all predetermined. Perhaps from the moment I coveted this brooch, everything had already started. Maybe it wasn’t the brooch I had wanted after all. 

It was just hard to admit it. Well, maybe I did at some point.

But if it weren’t for the man’s words and his subsequent suicide, she might not have admitted it so quickly. 

Such things aren’t made by humans. They are made by the heavens.

“I also desire Chaeyoon. I want to have her.” 

Seonkyung pinned the brooch to her suit jacket.

“And what I want, I must have.”

Seeing Seonho’s half-surprised, half-delighted expression, she continued.

“Does that mean you’ll help me marry her?”

“Not yet. It just means I’ve finished my calculations.” 

Seonkyung shook her head.

“Calculations?”

“Smart kid. She has enough of a business mindset to serve well beside you as an advisor. Though not from a wealthy family, which is a flaw, it also means she has no powerful family ties, so she’ll completely become one of our people.”

“I’ve told you, I will not make Chaeyoon live the life of a chaebol daughter-in-law. I will let her do what she wants.” 

Seonho stated firmly.

Had this child ever been so vehement in expressing his opinion?

Seonkyung realized anew that Seonho had changed. He used to be indifferent and bored, his great abilities making him apathetic. 

But now, Seonho had hardened, focused on the happiness of the woman he loved, more energetic than ever before.

Heroes are indeed made by troubled times.

What would have happened if Seonho had gone through with my plan? Would he still have this vibrant, lively expression as he does now? I doubt it. The happiness he was experiencing in life, though filled with obstacles he wouldn’t have faced if not for his love for that woman, was something he could never have attained otherwise.

That’s the irony. Having everything should make life easier and happier, but that’s not always the case.

“Really? Then let me ask you one thing. Do you think Chaeyoon will avoid becoming a chaebol daughter-in-law if you just leave her be?”

Seonkyung’s question made Seonho pause before asking, “What do you mean?” He was on to something.

“If you leave her alone, she’ll become part of ‘us’ by herself.”

Seonkyung emphasized the word ‘us’.

“She would need the grandfather’s approval first. But Chaeyoon doesn’t want that.”

“Like I said. She’ll come to that position on her own. Let her study what she wants. Start preparing her now to take over the jewelry business when she finishes her studies. Once you keep her by your side for a while, she’ll support you even if she doesn’t want to. It’s obvious she wouldn’t just stand by and do nothing. It’s not in her nature.”

“Mother, you really are quite greedy.”

Seonho clicked his tongue.

It was his mother, but it was indeed astonishing. It seemed she wouldn’t let go of Chaeyoon or his position as successor.

He had been too busy trying to accommodate what Chaeyoon wanted and hadn’t paid attention to other things. In contrast, Seonkyung’s perspective was wider and farther-reaching.

“That’s what drove me to get to this position.”

“At this rate, it’s practically like you’re arranging our marriage.”

“No. What I just told you is the scenario if you two were to get married, and getting there is another matter. You still have to convince Chaeyoon.”

“That’s right.”

“Stabilize the subscription service by August and take an MBA course in London.”

“Suddenly?”

“It will make it look like you’re avoiding an arranged marriage because you don’t want to fight for succession.”

Seonho tilted his head. Something didn’t add up.